Karakalpak Activist Dies in Uzbekistan Prison

Mustafa Tursynbayev, a Karakalpak blogger and creator of the well-known independent channel Nukus Online, has died in prison in Uzbekistan, Orda.kz reports.

According to Asia Terra, multiple sources, including the U.S.-based Via Serica organization, confirmed his death. Tursynbayev passed away on February 17 in a penal colony in Tavaksay, Tashkent region.

Before his death, he had been in a coma after part of a wall collapsed on him while working at a construction site.

Asia Terra says this marks the third reported death of a Karakalpak political prisoner in the past two years.

Tursynbayev, who turned 41 in December, had gained popularity as the creator of Nukus Online, a video channel with 153,000 subscribers focused on independent reporting in Karakalpakstan.

He was detained in November 2023 alongside another blogger, Salamat Seitmuratov. In March, the Nukus District Court sentenced both to five years in a general regime penal colony on extortion charges.

The conviction was upheld in July. Tursynbayev consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The only evidence presented was a recorded phone call initiated by the second convicted person, allegedly staged at the request of the Uzbek special services. Prosecutors had attempted to charge him with additional offenses, but these were dismissed in court.

As public interest in the case grew, Uzbek authorities restricted access to information.

State media did not cover the trial, families were denied access to the verdict, and the only court document made public — an appellate ruling — was heavily redacted.

According to Asia Terra, many in Karakalpakstan believe the case against Tursynbayev was fabricated, and he was targeted for his journalistic work, particularly his reporting in the Karakalpak language on social issues.

In 2022, he was among many Karakalpaks detained and reportedly tortured during the crackdown on protests in Nukus.

Meanwhile, on February 15, Karakalpak activist Aqylbek Muratbai was released from pretrial detention in Almaty after facing an extradition request from Uzbek authorities.

Original Author: Anastasia Prilepskaya